A few years ago I decided to practice intentional gratitude by keeping a journal. Each evening I wrote down five things for which I was grateful. Sometimes the entries were deep and introspective (a conversation with a stranger that got me thinking), but mostly they were very, very simple (a phone call from one of the boys); sometimes it was a list (fall apples, smiles, good friends), and sometimes I used complete sentences (My article was published! Finished a good book!).
Then life got busy, and while the journaling stopped the gratitude did not, for I had learned an important lesson: once I got into the habit of pausing at the end of the day to think about those grateful moments, to really and truly acknowledge them, I started to recognize them in real time. Gratitude in the moment.
And gratitude in the moment inspired a verbal acknowledgment of that gratitude. Thank you. Two words that pack a punch, both when given and when received.
I also learned how gratitude paved the way to prayer. Maya Angelou once said that gratitude is the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer, and there have been many nights when one has lead to another.
But that's okay because gratitude doesn't mean that things are perfect; rather, it's about recognizing the perfect in the imperfect. Being grateful for the sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine is no less important than being grateful for my family, or for the full moon, or an early morning walk with Joe.
It's such an easy thing, being grateful, but sometimes it gets buried in the busyness of life, or stays hidden behind inconsequential matters, or dries up with bitterness. But if you look for gratitude, unearth it, dust it off and polish it, then gratitude offers a shining outlook not just on the day, but on life.
No comments:
Post a Comment